00:00would shift as if she were the one protecting the man, whereas typically, a child of her age
00:04would be the one seeking protection. On another day, while strolling through the streets, he
00:08chanced upon the pink-haired Prince Ba, who invited him to go treasure hunting in the
00:11anti-district. The protagonist's protagonist's halo effect hit in, and he soon acquired a magical
00:16grimoire for the paltry sum of three Jean, a genuine original copy with a baseline value of
00:21at least a thousand gold coins. Prince Ba, astonished, asked how he had managed to discover
00:25it. The protagonist explained that the moment he touched the book, he felt his affinity for
00:28the element of wind suddenly increased. Any item capable of boosting his attributes was, by
00:33definition, an object possessing a consciousness of its own. He then pointed his demonic sword at
00:37the grimoire, only to inadvertently unleash a malevolent spirit that had been sealed within.
00:42Although the combat sequences are somewhat rough around the edges, they are perfectly enjoyable
00:46if you simply switch off your brain and go with the flow. After witnessing the protagonist effortlessly
00:50dispatch an evil spirit, an antique shop owner steps forward to bestow upon him a powerful cheat,
00:55a mysterious ring he possesses. Legend has it that the ring reveals its true form only when it
01:00encounters its rightful master. The owner had previously suspected it might be mere junk. Indeed,
01:04he had discarded it several times, only for it to inexplicably find its way back to him.
01:08Suddenly, right there in the shop, the ring liquefies and transforms into a suit of armor enveloping
01:13the protagonist, boosting all his basic attributes. The prince of the eight sages, who wields a sword,
01:18promptly volunteers to foot a bill, treating it as a gift for the protagonist. After all,
01:22first came the magic sword, and now the magic armor. His young friend is clearly no ordinary
01:26person. However, no sooner had the protagonist stepped out of his carriage than he was ambushed
01:31by the bald-headed ruffian from earlier. The ring instinctively sprang to its master's defense,
01:35manifesting as a protective shield. The prince of the eight sages was astonished once again,
01:39never imagining the protagonist would master the green shadow ability so swiftly. As for the bald
01:44ruffian, having dared to lay hands on a prince, his inevitable fate went without saying. The
01:49protagonist had intended to reassure the singer that he need no longer live in fear. Instead,
01:53he arrived just in time to find the singer once again being harassed, this time to the point of
01:57near-fatal injury by a repulsive bully. The protagonist was forced to intervene, driving
02:02the two aggressors away. He then urged the shop owner to prevent such dangerous incidents from
02:06occurring in the future. The owner, however, looked troubled. He too, had to make a living,
02:10and in reality, his shop survived almost entirely on the patronage of that very type of customer.
02:14Wealthy and impulsive, the protagonist decided that if that was the case,
02:17he would simply buy out the shop entirely, offering the owner a price he simply could
02:21not refuse. His sole condition for the singer was this. Continue to hone your voice without
02:25cease. For one day, he would arrange for you to sing before the king himself.
02:29Ah mom, calm and composed. He leisurely ate his breakfast. He then stated the purpose of his
02:33visit. Why had the payment not been made? He laid down a strict rule. If they dared utter a single
02:37word that a child could not understand, they were to keep their mouths shut. Upon hearing this,
02:41the official, Wen Yan, instantly changed his demeanor. He explained that a massive flood had struck that
02:46region the previous year. In his great benevolence, his majesty had granted a one-year tax exemption,
02:51thereby allowing the local authorities to utilize those funds. Declared that he would personally
02:55resolve this issue. He would not allow such trivial financial matters to stand in the way of
02:59discovering true talent. He instructed his butler to purchase every vacant property available within
03:04the imperial capital. Subsequently, he visited the merchant guild to meet with Byron. Byron,
03:08however, proved to be remarkably astute. He offered to supply all the food and provisions
03:12required for the duration of the selection process at a financial loss. The protagonist,
03:16well aware that merchants are inherently driven by profit, knew that Byron must surely be seeking
03:21a favor in return. Byron readily admitted as much. Concurrently with a knight's selection,
03:25the imperial palace would be holding its own recruitment examinations for palace retainers,
03:29and he hoped the protagonist could provide him with advanced insight into the specific criteria or
03:34preferences for admission. The protagonist understood Byron's objective to place his own people
03:38within the palace walls, thereby establishing a network of informants to facilitate intelligence
03:43gathering. Furthermore, should one of his candidates catch the emperor's eye, it would represent a
03:47meteoric rise to power, a true one-step ascent to the heavens. The protagonist agreed to assist,
03:51promising to put in a good word, provided, of course, that the candidate in question was a young
03:55woman whom he genuinely admired. He emphasized this stipulation repeatedly. She had to be a girl for
04:00whom he held sincere personal appreciation. Catching the subtle nuance in the protagonist's words,
04:05Byron gave his assurance that he would select a young woman who would be entirely to his liking.
04:10He also expressed a specific hope that the candidate selected from his guild, a young woman currently
04:14enrolled in their prestigious signature curriculum, could be assigned to serve within the third prince's
04:18residence. The protagonist agreed to take her under his wing, a decision that, in turn, led to a
04:23further enhancement of his own innate abilities. Yet, unexpectedly, he noticed a sudden regression in
04:28his water attribute proficiency, a drop of one rank from E to F. This indicated that a crisis had
04:33erupted within his coastal fiefdom. He immediately hastened to the imperial palace to seek an audience
04:37with the emperor. Although the emperor had merely sensed the ominous precursors of trouble, the
04:41protagonist was convinced that the calamity had already struck. Sure enough, a messenger soon
04:45arrived with grim tidings. A rebellion had broken out within the protagonist's territory. Based on the
04:50specific degree to which his attribute proficiency had been diminished, the protagonist deduced that it
04:54was likely only a small-scale insurrection. The emperor then provided the definitive confirmation.
04:59According to the reports, the rebel force numbers approximately 5,000. The emperor asked the
05:03protagonist if he intended to lead the punitive expedition personally. The protagonist politely
05:08declined, explaining that he was unable to do so. After all, he was still young and had never
05:12experienced actual combat. Consequently, he lacked the authority to command the respect of the troops.
05:17Any of his older imperial brothers would be a more suitable choice. The emperor acknowledged the
05:21validity of the protagonist's assessment and asked him to recommend a candidate. The protagonist suggested
05:26his fourth brother. Given the scale of the rebellion, a direct military suppression was
05:30deemed the most effective strategy, and his cautious fourth brother would undoubtedly handle
05:34the matter with competence. However, just as he was setting out alongside his fourth brother,
05:38his demonic sword suddenly reacted. The protagonist immediately ordered the convoy to halt. He realized
05:42that he was the intended target. To avoid endangering his imperial brother, he voluntarily stepped out of
05:47his carriage. Yet, no sooner had he disembarked than he was struck by a magical water-based attack.
05:51Fortunately, the divine gear he had recently acquired automatically activated to protect its
05:56master. Since the attackers were all practitioners of water magic, it became clear that they were
06:00members of the rebel army from the territory in question. Regrettably for them, they were unaware
06:04that the protagonist possessed such formidable cheat-like abilities. Within a mere few moves,
06:09he had neutralized them all. The fourth brother was surprised to learn that the rebel army consisted
06:13primarily of cavalry. He had not expected to encounter such capable individuals among their ranks.
06:17It seemed a pity that, with the attackers now dead, no intelligence could be extracted from them.
06:22Little did he know, however, that the protagonist had not actually dealt them lethal blows. After
06:26knocking them down, he had merely used the intimidating aura of his demonic sword to
06:30render the enemies unconscious. Upon learning that the rebels were a cavalry force, the protagonist
06:35immediately summoned his subordinate, Bailuin, and ordered him to launch a massive procurement drive
06:39for warhorses. By depriving the rebels of their mounts, the protagonist ensured that the ensuing
06:43battle would be a far easier undertaking for his fourth brother. What the protagonist
06:47could never have anticipated was that his demonic sword possessed a hidden capability for long-range
06:52strikes. With just a single precision delivery, it could execute the rebel leader from a thousand
06:56miles away. According to the interrogations of the captured assassins, the rebels had apparently
07:00intended to abduct the protagonist to use him as a bargaining chip. Fortunately, the protagonist was
07:05no pushover, and thus the rebel's scheme was thwarted. Furthermore, his decision to prioritize the
07:09seizure of warhorses and provisions earned him the emperor's deep favor. After all, the crown prince had
07:14previously offered a strategy of his own, one that sought to starve the rebels into submission by
07:19cutting off their food supply. Whereas the protagonist had shown concern for the innocent
07:23soldiers caught in the conflict, a disparity in character and wisdom between the two was immediately
07:27apparent, and the emperor bestowed a reward upon the protagonist. In this world, where the imperial
07:31family holds supreme authority, a rare privilege was granted. The right to affix a ceremonial sword to the
07:36protagonist's official articles. It is well known that the empire is built upon the backbone of its
07:41warriors, and the sword serves as the empire's ultimate symbol. Thus, even imperial princes are
07:45forbidden from wielding one without explicit permission. Consequently, this honor represents
07:50the highest distinction among all imperial awards. Later, the guild master, having successfully completed
07:55his mission, returned to deliver his report. He revealed that the rebel army's entire supply of
07:59warhorses and provisions had been completely bought out. Furthermore, regarding the rebel leader,
08:04Caven, rumors suggested he was a man of obsessive determination, willing to resort to any means
08:08necessary to achieve his ends. Suddenly, a maid appeared with an urgent message. A heavily
08:13wounded man had arrived at the gate, claiming to have critical information to report to the thirteen
08:17prince. It turned out the visitor was a squad leader from the rebel army. Having learned of the impending
08:21rebellion within the territory, he refused to be complicit in their treason. Seizing an opportunity to escape,
08:27he had fled to warn the prince, unaware that the protagonist was already fully apprised of the
08:31situation. Nevertheless, the protagonist, ever fair in his administration of rewards and
08:35punishments, instructed the maid to tend to the man's wounds and rewarded him with a thousand coins.
08:40When the guild master, puzzled by this gesture, asked for an explanation, the protagonist explained
08:44that it was a reward for the man's loyalty. Yet, the rebels remained relentless in their schemes.
08:48Not long after, the protagonist's personal maid approached him with a look of de-distress,
08:52seeking forgiveness. She produced a pouch containing five hundred coins, explaining that a stranger had
08:57offered it as payment for a task. She was to find a way to make the protagonist drink a certain
09:01liquid he had handed her. The maid, however, could not bring herself to betray her master. After all,
09:06both she and her mother, as well as their family back home, owed their safety and well-being entirely
09:10to his benevolence. Yet, the stranger had threatened to kill her if she refused to comply. Upon hearing
09:15this, the protagonist immediately wrote out a check for five thousand coins as a reward and asked the
09:19maid to perform a specific task for him. He would drink the potion, and once the effects had taken
09:23hold, she was to hand him over to the rebels. He sternly warned her, however, to flee immediately
09:28after the exchange, as the rebels would undoubtedly attempt to silence her permanently to cover their
09:32tracks. The protagonist remained utterly fearless, for he reasoned that since the rebels intended
09:37to use him as a bargaining chip, they would not kill him outright. Moreover, with his magical sword
09:41serving as a personal guard, his safety was all but guaranteed. When the protagonist finally
09:45regained consciousness, he found his hands and feet bound. Fortunately, he had concealed his magical
09:50sword inside his ear, and his signet ring had escaped the rebels' notice during their search.
09:54For the protagonist, breaking free from such bonds was an effortless feat to piece together
09:58exactly what had transpired during his period.
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